Read Walking on Air for Free Online

isn’t a game you’re engaging in, Gabe. Nan Hoffman lives in a prison of her own making, and it will be your assignment to help her escape from it. It is heaven’s standard policy that lost souls be given only a month to redeem themselves. Judging by your record, you aren’t exactly an expert in affairs of the heart, and making a woman like Nan Hoffman fall in love with you may be beyond your ability.”
    For a moment, Gabe thought he’d misunderstood the man. “Wait a minute. If I only have a month to be back on earth, why in hell would you fellows want me to make some poor woman fall in love with me? Isn’t that unfair to her?”
    “Because,” the blond inserted, “experiencing true love, however briefly, is the only way Nan Sullivan will ever be convinced to risk falling in love again. It will be your job to help her heal in the month you’re allotted, so that after your second death, Nan will be able to lead a normal life, remarry, and have children of her own. If she doesn’t do that, her life will count for far less than it should, and that is a waste that our heavenly Father simply can’t countenance.”
    Gabe threw up a hand. “Whoa, there. Did you just say
remarry
?”
    Both angels raised their eyebrows. Michael took over again. “Your marrying Nan will be absolutely necessary if you hope to completely banish her fears. As it stands, she abhors the institution of marriage, convinced that once a man gains authority over her, he will turn domineering and possibly become abusive. It will be your mission to show her how wrong she is.”
    It was Gabe’s turn to raise his eyebrows. “With only a month to gain the woman’s trust, how can you possibly expect me to convince her to marry me? And after I manage that, I’ll need some time to prove myself. A measly month?”
    Despite Gabe’s objection, which he felt was reasonable, the angels remained firm. “One month,” Gabriel repeated. “It’s standard policy. If you take this assignment, you’ll simply have to work fast. How you go about it will be entirely up to you. By fair means or foul, all that matters is that you accomplish your mission. It will be difficult, yes, but not impossible. If you decide to take this assignment, you will be armed with enough ammunition before you return to earth to coerce Nan Hoffman into marrying you.”
    “Coerce? Did you say
coerce
? I’ve never done that to a woman in my life!” Whether his own redemption hung in the balance or not, Gabe was no longer sure that he wanted to tackle this project. He liked the ladies willing, thank you very much. “What kind of angels are you fellows, anyway? It sounds to me as if you’re giving me free rein to turn that poor woman’s life topsy-turvy. What if I bungle the job and leave her more afraid to trust men than she already is? What if . . . Well, the possibilities are endless, and none of them make you look too good. Do you guys pull this kind of shit very often? If so, it’s little wonder so many people down there walk around asking, ‘Why me, God? Why me?’”
    The angel Gabriel smiled. “It isn’t God who turns people’s lives topsy-turvy on a regular basis. It’s the influence of evil and the actions of humans who make the lives of other people miserable.”
    “But this time, in Nan Hoffman’s case, it will be God raining misfortune on her head,” Gabe pointed out.
    Michael nodded. “Yes, this time it will be our heavenly Father helping to orchestrate events, but I assure you, this sort of measure is taken only in extreme cases. As for your making things worse than they already are, if that should happen, we will simply erase from Nan’s memory all that occurs during your visit back to earth. Things will return to the way they are right now, with you dead and doomed to hell, and Nancy Hoffman living a pathetically sad life without any hope of ever leading a fruitful one.”
    “In short,” Gabriel interjected, “if you fail, Nan will recall nothing